A down to earth look at real estate issues in
Northern New Jersey with an environmental twist.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Getting Out the Volt

It's here! Well almost. The long awaited Chevy Volt electric car from GM should be available to all by 2011 at "competitive" prices in the 50k range. For all the specs and hype, check out their website.

The Volt is radically different than any on the road today. Although agreement about definitions vary, GM doesn’t not consider it a hybrid. Current hybrids cars, such as the Prius, are defined as parallel hybrids, meaning they have a small electric motor that moves the car when it is going slowly, but when speed or acceleration increases, a gasoline motor kicks in. The Volt, however, is considered an extended-range electric vehicle (E-REV). It has a very powerful all-electric 161-horsepower 45KW (100 KW peak) motor that is the only engine to power the car at all times. This engine should be capable of moving the car from 0 to 60 in 8.5 seconds, and have a top speed of at least 100 mph.